The Final Testament
by gruesome-daath
Summary: Undergoing major renovation...
1. Prologue: The Road to Judgement

**Evangelion****: The Final Testament**

Chapter 1: Prelude in C Minor

(Rei Ayanami wandered in what seemed just a little more than a vacant state along the ruins of the once glorious metropolis of Tokyo-3, down to the perimeter of the moonlit lake far beyond the boundaries that circled it. Her pale complexion made her skin appear to glow in the clear moonlit night. There was a still intensity in her crimson eyes, something cold and distant, staring blankly into the body of water.

Moonlight mirrored across the vast expanse of water, shattered into millions as the cold wind blew across the night air. The sounds of the night seemed to blend in the darkness, of the chirping with cicadas intermingling of the mechanical clanging on the city's outskirts far in the distance. She made no noise of her own, save for soft footsteps treading along the fine sand upon the waters edge.

Her eyes panned the landscape, her gaze falling in the distance, finding the remains of a lifetime swept from existence by the sands of time. Artifacts: evidence that at one point in time, there was life where once she stood. Pylons of concrete and steel, twisted in mangled wreckages, break the surface of the flat moonlit lake. At one point, these artifacts once denoted something great as they stretched forth, reaching to touch the skies. But that was a lifetime ago, in a time that lies beyond her memories.

Slowly she reached into her blouse pocket, pulling out a strange item. For several moments, she merely held it carefully in her hand, eyeing it, feeling it, wondering about its importance to her. She knew it wasn't hers, this broken twisted spectacle that she held. The frame was well out of shape, its lenses cracked, it would seem logical to have disposed of such a useless relic, having no outlived its purpose. Yet it drew out emotions within her, emotions she could not define, emotions that triggered a chain reaction of other emotions, raising questions in her mind.)

Rei: _In what way are he and I alike? _

(A boy's image appears in her mind. He was standing still, smiling, waiting for her. This was not a lifetime ago; she could still sense him, even though she knew that it could not be. Her gaze returns to the item in her hand.

Careful as if not to break the already sundered spectacles, she began to unfold the earpiece and raise it to her head. The broken lenses fell upon her vermilion eyes, the world around her coming into focus. Immediately she closed her eyes, unable to retain her new perspective. Her eyes did not open as her hand rose, gently removing the spectacles from her eyes. Again she felt the item close in her hand, small images forming in the darkness as her hand traced around the object. Finally she opened her eyes…)

(The moonlit scenery had vanished, something else taking its place.

From the distance, a golden orb edged across the horizon, painting the sky with a tint of ochre, indigo and cerulean. Slowly it rose, shadows stretching across the foreground. What little light revealed scorched earth, peppered with craters outlined with darkened edges. It stretched on as far as her eyes could see, beginning from the far horizon and ending near a river of red in front of her.

Her eyes widened as she saw what lay along the lake's banks opposite to her. She counted seventeen of them, all heading in her direction. Their faces were twisted in madness, half smiling, half flaring. Their brilliant colorless wings were outstretched, all holding an elongated spear in their hands. Small waves swelled around their feet with each step they took. Her hands began to shake as the beasts advanced.

She heard a loud voice. It sounded familiar, but she could not make it out. Her head turned again to the orb, the origin of the voice. There, in the distance in the focal point of the rising sphere, a silhouette rose with the golden orb. Squinting, she tried to make out the image. It was in vain, as suddenly, the orb brightened with the glow of a thousand suns. The scorched land, the bloodied ocean and seventeen giants all disappeared with a blinding light. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.)

(But nothing came.)

(A faint sound, a steady beat of dissonant clanging could be heard while a new sensation registered. It was water. Slowly her eyes opened, feeling the sharp bite of cold water rippling up and down her shivering form. She was bent over the water's edge. Staring into the moonlit surface of the lake, she found another person in the water, with two fiery scarlet orbs staring back at her from her pale face. Several heartbeats passed as she remained fixated on the waters surface. Then she pushed herself up and out of the shallow water.

She shook her head as if to shake off the feeling of disorientation. The cold wind blowing across the surface bit across her damp skin beneath her saturated uniform. Standing in mute silence, she eyed her broken likeness across the water. A few more heartbeats later, a small splash could be heard not far from where a ghostly apparition once stood, followed by the quiet footsteps leading hurriedly away from it, quickly disappearing into the quiet of the night.)

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(Elsewhere, hidden from the cool glow of a full moon…

a single patient occupied the expanse of the massive hospital room, lying beneath the thin neatly folded sheets of white. The only sounds to escape the comatose was the sharp rasping breaths of the respirator forcing air into her lungs via an intravenous chord through her neck and the steady shriek of the electrocardiogram confirming their success at prolonging her misery.

Her once deep cobalt orbs have faded several shades of gray since they last saw; the warmth in her skin had long since disappeared since it last felt anything. She had long since forgotten the cold harsh reality of what put her there in the first place. The humiliating failures that she had to endure, the crippling betrayals, the pain of loneliness. The nothingness of the past month was almost paradise compared to the hell she had once endured.)

(Then something changes

Across the room, the machine registered a sharp unexpected bleep, the graph jumping on the screen. It almost seemed like an accident as the interval on the machine registered nothing for what seemed like a short perpetuity. All of a sudden, it happened again as her entire hand jumped. The bleeps screeched from the machine, an omen of what was to come next as two crimson words appeared across the LCD screen)

**WARNING: CONDITION CRITICAL**

(It is then, with a shriek that is echoed across the glass windows, and hands reaching for the ceiling that Asuka Langley Soryu finally awakens. At once she shields her eyes from the halogen lantern hanging above, unused to the light. She then scans the surroundings around her. The modest white hospital gown, the neatly folded sheets upon her feet, the machines upon the side of her bed, it wasn't long until she deduced that she was in the hospital.

As her eyes slowly adapted to the light, she carefully lowered her arm and inspected her hand, noting the various tubes leading to and from her body. At first, she stares at them blankly, somewhat dazed from her long sleep. It didn't take long, however her eyes narrowed as her hand tightens around a chord attached to her arm and tore it with a spurt of crimson staining against her otherwise colorless shirt. She feels around her body for other chords, then finds the one attached to her throat. She reached for the tube as her fingers locked around it when all of a sudden she heard the pneumatic hiss to her left. Her gaze shifted accordingly and at once her grip slackens.

Her jaw dropped as she spoke in a breathless gasp.

Asuka: (_weakly_) M- Momma … Is that you?

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(Meanwhile, a few hundred meters above the service hospital was a darkened chamber filled with a dissonant droning and a hauntingly pale scarlet light filtering from the ceiling, barely revealing a middle aged man by wall of reinforced glass, holding a handset to his ear. Opposite to his end of the massive oak table was an elder man with, his raised brow questioning the progress of his superior officer's conversation. A long silence hung between the man before at last, Gendo Ikari responded.)

Gendo: Complications will only arise if you fail your duty. Do not complicate things for yourself

(He heard a nervous reply on the other end of the line, then returned the receiver to its base unit and looked up to find Fuyutski glancing at him quizzically.)

Fuyutski: (scoffing) Are you really going to go ahead with this, Ikari? This is a very dangerous game you're playing.

Gendo: Something you have known since the beginning.

(Gendo moved away and stared out of the glass down upon the evergreen canopies several stories below. The unchanging amber light filtering from above gave the underground cavern the appearance of everlasting twilight.)

Gendo: Fortune favors the bold, my old friend. I intend to use our strongest hand, to buy ourselves the time that we need to complete what we have more than fifteen years ago.

Fuyutski: (Rising from his seat) There can only be two outcomes from this, and you know it, don't you? Win and you get the resources and time that you need to complete the E-Project. Two months. Three at the most-

Gendo: That is all the time we need

Fuyutski: (scowling) Somehow I doubt that. I don't even want to think what's going to happen to us if this little stunt of yours backfires on us.

Gendo: My my professor, since when have you ever placed any faith in probability? Time and time again, we are faced with situations where our odds of survival were less than reassuring, however here we are, still living and breathing. Perhaps you should be a little more optimistic like Major Katsuragi… which reminds me… I have heard that she has lost custody of the Second Child, has she not?

Fuyutski: (smirking) Yes. Her foster mother transferred here ten days ago. She has been working on the next generation A-10 unit in our laboratories in Berlin. She has also challenged Misato's custody of the child which Misato readily relinquished… given her failure to care for both Shinji and Asuka. Now that Asuka has woken up, she would probably take her home with her to Germany.

(Gendo paced down the glass and lifted his gaze to the steel plated ceiling above.)

Gendo: Rina Cortez will not be going anywhere. She will remain in Tokyo-03 to complete Kyoko's work which she also inherited from Kyoko alongside her child.

Fuyutski: Her curse…

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(Amber rays of twilight filtered through the tiny cracks of his tightly shut blinds, dimly illuminating the room around him, revealing boxes stacked along the walls. It almost seemed like déjà vu to him: had it really been six months since Asuka marched into this house and took over his room? At times, it would feel like an eternity when she tortured him around the kitchen for breakfast, but over the last month, the house had been so quiet without her. Shinji would have given anything just to hear her voice again.

Misato had packed the boxes late last night, but she never told Shinji why she did it, and he was too scared to ask. But it couldn't be what he was thinking, she would tell him if something had happened to Asuka. No, this was different, but what. After a spending a moment longer on the subject, Shinji finally gave up, leaving the room with his thoughts, and hoped that wherever Asuka going, that she would leave him too far behind.)

(Halfway out the door, Shinji then heard the front door sliding open. Misato had come back home. Deciding that there was nothing left to lose, he paced up the hallway to meet the woman, finding her in the living room with a plastic bag of take home food and a weakened smile across her face.)

Misato: Hey Shinji! Has anyone come by to pick up the things yet?

Shinji: (weakly) About that, Misato-

Misato: Uh, can you turn the TV on while I set up the plates? They're about to make an announcement.

Shinji:About what?

(Misato ignored this as she headed for the kitchen to fetch some plates)

Misato: It should be on the news channel… damn where is that serving bowl…

(Her voice trailed off as an anxious Shinji decided to learn about it himself, pacing towards the television and flipping on the switch. With a high pitched hiss, the screen came to life as a young female reporter stood in the foreground with what seemed like the front lawn of Tokyo-2 City Hall lying in the background. He listened carefully to the reporter's voice.)

Announcer: …merica, the UK, France and Germany. In addition to these G8 nations, various multi-national corporations have poured trillions of dollars into the reconstruction of Tokyo-3, a sign of their commitment to0 the reestablishment of the once jewel capital of Japan. Increased security is high on the priority list in order to prevent a similar tragedy which wiped the technological marvel off the face of the map more than two months ago. Head of reconstruction, Chairman Yoshiyuki Sada-

_T H U D!_

_T H U D!_

_T H U D!_

(Shinji's gaze shifted towards the door where a loud banging threatened to rip out the door from its frame. Somberly he reached towards a small panel to his right, pushing a button. He heard the air rush by as the door slid open and saw a pair of large men by the opening. Judging by their overalls and the logo plastered on it, they must have been the men to collect Asuka's possessions.)

Shinji: (nervously) Hi!

Removalist 1:Yeah, hi! We're here for some boxes.

Shinji: Uh- this way-

Woman:Wait! You men go on ahead… I wish to talk to the young man for a second.

(Shinji froze as a woman's voice cut in. The two men brushed passed him revealing a young woman behind them, her appealing face marred with a large scar.

The woman seemed very young, probably in her early twenties judging by her complexion. She wore a tidy white blouse beneath a flowing overcoat and a black pleated skirt. To Shinji, it would have seemed as if she had arrived from a funeral, but something else told him otherwise. It must have been because of her smile.)

Woman: You really are a handsome young man

Shinji: Th- thanks… but I really should help them ou-

Woman: They'll be just fine, however you really are too conscientious. Asuka must have taken advantage of you.

(Suddenly, Shinji's gaze turned from bashfulness to determination as he stepped up to her, narrowing his eyes.)

Shinji: A- Asuka! Just how do you know about her?

(At this, the woman's smile simply widened.)

Woman: I guess she didn't talk about me, did she?

(He remained silent, at which she shook her head and extended him a hand.)

Woman: I am Asuka's… old caretaker-

Misato: What she's trying to say is that… she's Asuka's step-mother.

(Shinji's hand froze just short of clasping the woman's hand as he threw a backwards glance, finding two young men carrying boxes out the door where Misato stood with a vacant gaze, the same kind she gave Ritsuko a month ago, the kind of look that froze the very blood in his veins, his hand dropping to his side. This woman was supposed to be Asuka's mother? But she couldn't have been? She wasn't that much older than she was, and judging by her olive skin and long jet black hair, she must have been a guardian at most.)

(Shinji didn't know what to think or do, only to step out of the way between two warring parties.)

(Misato's gaze fell to the floor as her voice broke.)

Misato: (solemnly) You're Mariana, aren't you?

Woman: My mother called me Mariana. I'd rather that you call me Rina like Asuka does.

(It was then that Shinji noted something in Rina's words that forced him out of silence, grabbing Rina by the hand.)

Shinji: Asuka! Is… is she alright?

Rina: (blinking for a second, then smiling) I came by to tell you that Asuka woke up this afternoon. She's still a little weak from all that IV meals that they've been feeding her, damn cheap bastards… but once they've finished observing her for a week or so, she should be coming home again.

Shinji: Then why are you taking all her stuff? If she's coming back-

(The boy pauses, feeling a hand fall upon his shoulder. He quickly looked up and found Misato behind him)

Misato: Asuka won't be coming back.

Shinji: …

Misato: …

Shinji: …

Rina: (nervously) Now don't be like that, Misato. Of course we'll come by once in a while to visit, and if you want, you can drop by our apartment any time you want to.

Misato: That's nice, Rina. I think we will take you up on your offer.

Rina: (looking up) well, it looks like the grunt work's done. I'll see you at your test tomorrow, Shinji.

Shinji:(surprised) W-wait! How'd you-

Misato: Rina… will be working closely with us from now on as your personal psychiatrist. She's here to make sure that nothing wrong happens to you.

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(Several hundred meters below, Gendo rarely ever visited this section of the headquarters, he rarely ever needed to. A strange eerie feeling always came to him as he paced these halls, though his matter at hand called for him to ignore his instinct. He then stopped as he arrived to a dull metallic door, marked only above with red writing

like blood)

**Solitary Confinement Cell 0001**

(The Commander regards it for a moment as a smirk came upon his face, turning to the keypad, pushing a series of keys. With a slight hiss of pneumatics, the door slid open. The room inside was in complete darkness, lit only by a slight glow of a crimson crest and motto on the side of the wall. Light from outside poured through the new opening, his shadow stretching far into the room, darkening the slight outline of a woman sitting on a chair, facing away from him, in the far end of the room.

The smell of stale air flooded out as he stepped through the opening, allowing the door to slide shut behind him. For a long while, he merely stood there and watched as her head turned slightly. He couldn't see much through the darkness, though from the faint light of the crimson glow to the side, he found the figure's tangled locks faded, covering her eyes. Not that he wanted to see them. He did see however, a sly smirk appears on the side of her lips.)

Ritsuko: (darkly) Either you've come to finish me off

Gendo:…

Ritsuko: … or you've found another use for me.

(The old man smiled at this. He closed his eyes and shook his head.)

Gendo:I have come to give you an offer you simply cannot refuse.

Ritsuko: …

Gendo:You will return to your previous position as Project Coordinator, reasonable accommodation and reasonable compensation for your effort-

Ritsuko: And if I refuse?

(The silence that followed was deafening, which each click of his heal pounding loudly against Ritsuko's ear. Gendo knew that sensory depravation could do this.)

Gendo:As I said… it is an offer you _cannot _refuse.

Ritsuko:…

Gendo: Perhaps you need a little more time to think about my offer?

Ritsuko:Oh gee, give me a second to think about it…

Gendo: Hmm

(Ritsuko snorted, pulling herself up to her feet, eyeing Gendo acidly)

Ritsuko: I'll do it.

Gendo: Very well. You willreport to lieutenant Ibuki at 043-

Ritsuko: What did you do?

Gendo: …

Ritsuko: Stop treating me like a child, Gendo.

Gendo:But that is how you wish to be treated, is it not?

Ritsuko:(growling) The committee's got enough shit to bury NERV and everyone attached to it, you included. But by the look of things, it looks like they're willing to turn a blind eye at us… at least for a while longer.

(He was slow to respond, grinning inwardly)

Gendo: It seems that I owe you as much.

Ritsuko:Damn right-

Gendo: It is called mutually assured destruction, a strategy inspired by the Cold War which has guaranteed peace for over 40 years in the 20th century and has paved the way for man's near annihilation in the early 21st century.

Ritsuko:(angrily) You blackmailed the committee? You're playing with fire, Ikari, and you're going to get us all burned.

Gendo: Interesting analogy you have raised, old friend.

Ritsuko:(furiously) I'm not your-

Gendo: In Greek mythology, it was Prometheus who brought the gift of fire to humanity by stealing it from the Zeus, the king of the Gods. He was infuriated by Prometheus' treason, that a mortal has stolen their treasure, their secret that it warranted one of the most horrendous penalties.

Ritsuko: (scoffing) I already know this story.

Gendo: The God of the Forge Hephaestus bound Prometheus high upon a cliff where a giant eagle fed on his liver, but this is not the end of his misery. To prolong his suffering, Zeus would restore Prometheus at night so that the eagle could once again feed upon his liver in the morning. His suffering ended only when Heracles freed him from his bondage. He too incurred the wrath of the gods.

Ritsuko: What is your point with this?

Gendo:Over two millennia, man has sharpened his mastery over the flame to the point the where he has challenged the power of Zeus himself… I intend to use our research into the E Projects to reach what man has sought since his conception.

Ritsuko: …

Gendo: …

Ritsuko: Which is?

Gendo: (grinning) To reach god… and become him.

(It is at this that Ritsuko manages to gather enough strength to smirk at the man that has imprisoned both her body and soul.)

Ritsuko: You've always suffered delusions of grandeur… you just can't see it, can't you?

Gendo:…

Ritsuko:You are the eagle…

Gendo:…

Ritsuko:… and Prometheus…

Gendo: …

Ritsuko:… is your son.

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(Several hundred kilometers away…

A rickety old four wheel drive ground to a halt not far from an encampment near the edge of a large body of water. Its occupants were struck silent by the breathtaking spectacle before them. The first rays of light lit the landscape with a warm tint of lavender mingling with burgundy in front of them over the horizon.

There was enough light to bathe the spectacle in a dusty haze of ochre. Sheer climbs of cliff faces rose around them their peaks covered with rugged edges, all of which were devoid of any signs of life, save for the odd shrub scattered among the stony outcrop. It was much like the edge where they stopped, a sandy valley carved between either side of the inclines on the western side of the water. The water itself, seemed more like a river, a lake even, glowing a strange cobalt as the sun's early rays shone above clear water. It seemed to glisten with a strange aura that neither passenger could explain, only feel.)

(After a long silence, both exited the vehicle, one made her way to the back of the vehicle, hauling a large sack, the other made his way towards the encampment, seeing that their presence was already known. With this, he raised his arm and waved at the group ahead of him.)

Balthazar: Not a bad setup you've got goin' on here, old taima.

(He squinted as he notices a silhouette leave the tent, hurriedly making its way towards him. Pulling down the brim of his khaki hat, he smiled and extended his hand. As the silhouette approached, he recognized a familiar face as a smile grew. Through the dim light, he saw another man, a little shorter than he was, though obviously more advanced in years)

Balthazar: G'day Dougie.

Douglas: Ah! G'day Bazza! Ya lookin' a lil' rough 'round de edges…

(the old man firmly grabbed his confidant's hand and shook it. Releasing his grip, he began to lead his companion to the tent.)

Balthazar: Bloody oath, that fuckin' shit box's suspension was shot to hell. I feel like Muhamad fuckin' Ali after 3 hours in that tub… say, my ear's kinda funny. Feel's like I'm on a plane or somefin'.

Douglas: It's da pressure, Baz. We're about a quarter mile beneath sea level after all, but you'll get over it.

(He laughed as he looked over his friend's shoulder at the young woman struggling with a large bag at the back of their vehicle)

Douglas: I see ya brought lil' El wid ya... Not so lil' anymore though is she?

(Balthazar didn't stop as he turned to see the young woman hauling a large sack over her shoulder not far behind then turned back to his friend, careful not to embarrass herself by falling over the sand)

Balthazar: It's been yonks, Doug. El's not the little girl playin' house anymore. She's got 'dem blokes linin' up for her on campus. She really takes after her mum, ya know.

Douglas: Yeah, time sure does fly… how old is she now?

Balthazar: Eighteen in two months... said that she'd rather spend the night under a blanket of stars than celebrate in the big smoke.

Douglas: (smirking) She really said that?

Balthazar: Well those weren't really her words-

(Balthazar smiled at his friend as he entered the marquee, lit by dozens of kerosene lanterns. Taking his hat off, he looked around to find several strange faces staring back at him, all wearing smiles. His older friend walked over a wooden table and pulled out a chair)

Douglas: Ya look stoked, Baz.

(The man nodded as he sat down. His older friend moved down a corner of the marquee to where a large icebox was located, he opened it and pulled out a can. He then tossed it to the younger man and looked around the room.

Douglas: Just our piece of home in the sand.

(His younger companion pulled the ring-tab on the can and quickly raised the container to his mouth and took several large gulps of the cold beverage. He heard a subtle muffle of cloths being dropped and deep breathing behind him. A soft murmur came over the occupants as they looked behind him. Turning around, he saw that it was his daughter as she dropped the huge burden from her back onto the sandy floor)

Balthazar: Is dat everyfin', hon?

Douglas: Well… we kinda left the kitchen sink back in DC but…

(The elder man started laughing, startling the young woman into silence)

Douglas:Looks like she'z takin' more after her mother than ye. She's even got the yank accent.

Balthasar: Den ya see who duz da talkin' 'round da house most a da time.

(Douglas smiled inwardly as he turned to face the young girl)

Douglas:Ah! Elise! Gud ta have ya wid us.

(Once more, he dug into the icebox with both hands, he produced a less intoxicating drink in one hand and a can marked with VB in the other. He casually tossed the former item to the girl, who skillfully caught it in one hand. He pulled the ring-tab off his, causing a froth to start fizzing out of the gaping hole.The young woman ran her fingers down her sandy short brown hair as she smile at her old friend, laughing just a little.

Elise: Yeah, it's good to be here… I guess…

(The old man raised the can above his head, not unlike a toast to the new arrivals.)

Douglas: Now dat you're both bloody 'ere, let me just say on da behalf of everyone, welcome to _Mare Mortuum…_the Dead Sea.

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To be continued

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Author's notes

Yes, this piece is a redo of my original work... and a lot of redoing to say the least. Those of you who started reading it before would have noticed 3 things

1) This is written in script. I just find it easier to write THIS piece in script, as you guys will see later on. It's easier to read, easier to understand, and quite frankly, I love script.

2) There are nowhere NEAR as many ACCs in this as there was in the original. That means more time with your favourites.

3) I didn't blow up Tokyo-3. That right, they'll be spending a little more time in Japan, which means things will take off like most other fics. I found that relocating chars was just both too hard to do and places too many changes that it alienates the reader from the piece.

Anyway, I hope that you liked the changes that I've made. Please tell me what you thought about them...

And if you're writing about the aussie accents, I'm sorry, alright?


	2. Chapter 2

**Evangelion****: The Final Testament**

Chapter 2: Moonlight Serenade

(The door leading to an apartment unit swung wide open, revealing two young women: one standing as she wheeled the second into the room. Flipping the switch on, the lights flickered to life, illuminating the interior. A familiar scene is revealed to the young copper haired girl, almost eerily nostalgic to one that she has left behind almost a year ago beyond two expansive oceans.)

Rina: Here we are, just like the way it was when you left it.

(The redhead wasn't as enthusiastic as her guardian, wearing a dull expression upon her face as she scanned the room, finding neatly arranged living room to greet her with a familiar black organ near the front couch. Cabinets towered alongside the home entertainment system stacked with towers of CDs piled on top of each other. It had everything she would expect a young single woman to have in a bachelor's apartment. All, that is except the thing that made the living room looked lived in.

It was missing photographs… at least of the woman who lived there. There were dozens of portraits around the room, hung upon the walls, littering the shelves, of the younger girl growing up, chronicling everything. Portraits of her face smiling in the sun as she played in the beach, to the time she wore gowns as she held up a diploma in one hand. Asuka was always there and she was always alone, but at least she was there)

Rina: Do you still remember where your room is?

Asuka: (sighing) Yeah…

Rina: I've brought over all of your clothes from Misato's apartment as well as some new items that I thought that you'd like. You can have a look at them while I'm at HQ. I won't be gone longer than two hours… just a few tests that I have to do on Rei then I'll be right back. If there's any problems, my cell number is right next to the phone. If you get hungry, just order in anything that you'd like, but before you do, I just want you to go to your room first.

(Asuka looks up with a puzzled gaze at which Rina met with a reassuring smile as she stepped away from her, lifting her hands from the handlebars and stepping away)

Rina: Go ahead… I've left a surprise for you.

(A moment of silence passed between the two before at last, the girl weakly lifts up her hands and places them on the rims of each tire either side of her and pushed herself forward into the hallway, all the while scanning the pictures in hallway. Just like in the living room, all the pictures belonged to her. That was when she stopped at one portrait hanging just outside her room.

It was a small girl with a blank face, her short red hair neatly tied behind her back wearing a tidy white dress outside what seemed to be a distil hallway. Asuka stared at the girl for a second before at last a smile curled itself from her lips, something that Rina had been waiting an eternity to see. Rina took a second thought but then shook her head.)

Rina: Go ahead.

Asuka: Hold on a second, will ya?

Rina: That's okay… take your time.

(Groaning in dismay, the girl finally turned her back on her younger self to face the door and reached over the knob, pushing open the portal to reveal a plain pink room, a neatly kept bed and a white envelope lying on top of her sheets. Curious, Asuka slowly wheeled herself over to the bed and grasped the envelope, carefully pealing the back lip open as not to tear the delicate paper and reached inside, pulling out a thin piece of cardboard.

Then stopped.

(In her hand was another photograph, this time not of her. Fifteen young faces stared back at her, most of them with warm inviting smiles upon their faces Her classmates had gathered around the front of the class room and with a piece of chalk greeted her the way they only knew how.)

GET BETTER SOON ASUKA

Asuka: (laughing) einen dumpkopf, nicht?

(There was a young freckled girl on one end of the blackboard standing beside a familiar brash boy with his right arm slung around her neck. Touji didn't seem to mind that he had lost his arm, only that he gained a girlfriend in Hikari. Standing beside the two with a smile that spread from ear to ear was the bespectacled Kensuke, posing proudly in front of the camera with a two thumbs up.

Then there was a young girl standing on the far end of the blackboard with skin that glowed next to the dark surface of the black board. Even though Asuka recognized her light blue hair and cold red eyes, there was something about Rei that seemed so… different. She wasn't quite sure what it was, but it was definitely there.

But something was missing. Then, out of nowhere…)

Rina: Shinji was the one who took that photograph.

(Shocked, Asuka looked up and found Rina watching over her, once again with a large smile across her face. A bead of sweat rolled down Asuka's brow.)

Asuka: W- why do I care? He's probably too stupid to set the timer or something…

Rina: Uh, you're probably right…

Asuka: Huh?

Rina: Nah… don't worry about it. (sighing and stepping back into the hallway). Anyway, I have to go now. Auf wiederzehen, liebshen.

(and just like that, Rina was gone leaving Asuka with a picture of her friends. This time, she was not alone)

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Hikari: Alright everybody, stand… bow… come on you guys! Show some respect!

All: (wearily bowing) Doo- mooo aaa- riiii- gaaa- toou- goo- zai- maaa su!

Teacher: Ungh-- You're dismissed.

(The young class representative couldn't help but feel a little bit embarrassed as she watched a weary old teacher amble out of the classroom door to head back home after a long day at school. Sure, he could be boring at times but he was only trying to impart his knowledge and experience down to the pioneers of the next generation.

As soon as the shadows of the old man disappeared behind the wooden panels, the class rises in a sea of oohs and aahs of relief before flooding out the door to yet another fun filled weekend. All that remained half a minute later were three young boys who were slow to pack their belongings back into their bags and herself. This however was reassuring

Smiling to herself, she gracefully paces across the room to her desk, grabs her already packed bag and wonders over the tallest boy, stifling the awkwardness in her voice but is unable to hide the red patches across her freckles)

Hikari: C- come on Touji! Hurry up will ya? The sooner we drop of Ayanami's print outs, the sooner we can visit Asuka.

Touji: Oh give me a break, Hik!

Hikari: You're always the last one to pack up! If you didn't always fool around class, you could finish with the rest of us, you know?

(At this, the boy scratches the back of his leg, revealing his robotic right limb which seemed normal enough beneath the artificial skin)

Touji: I could… if I weren't asleep half the time… do you know just how mind-numbing one his classes have been lately?

Kensuke: (mimicking the teacher) Back in my day, we didn't have the internet…

Touji: Or computers

Kensuke: Or a sense a humor…

(Both are silence at once as a loud 'thud' erupted beside Touji, leaving a crack in the floor where Hikari stood and a menacing look on her face)

Hikari: Just hurry up already! We're going to be late!

Touji: (mumbling) Good… I don't wanna die just yet...

Hikari: (Angry) WHAT DID YOU SAY?

Touji: I SAID I WANNA **LIVE**, DAMMIT!

Hikari: YOU TAKE THAT BACK NOW!

Touji: MAKE ME!

Shinji: (quietly) I'll see you guys later.

(The quietest of voices was piercing, silencing both warring parties, forcing them into a temporary truce as they grabbed their bags and rushed towards the door, almost leaving a confused Kensuke to himself. It was with a smile on his face that he shrugs to himself as he slung a bag over his shoulder that he slowly began towards the door)

Kensuke: (to himself) Eva pilots are so lucky…

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(Half an hour later, more than two kilometers below the ground, Sub-Level 20 cafeteria moved buzzed with the usual hustle and bustle of technicians enjoying the best lunch NERV could provide. Most of its patrons came here for the wall mounted Plasma Televisions that scattered its premises, other came here because it was the closest cafeteria to their stations. Indeed, the Sub-Level 20 cafeteria was the busiest cafeteria in all of NERV HQ with all of its desks packed with patrons…

… all except one.

In the far corner of the cafeteria lay a table good for four, occupied only by one woman sprawled over the mantelpiece. A few of the technicians talked about the familiar blonde Director of Research in hushed whispers around her, watching the woman sleep despite the dull roar of plasma televisions booming either side of her and the gossip of her colleagues. Unknown to all of them was far from sleeping: that she could hear every single word that floated in that cafeteria.)

Technician A: ... I heard that too. I also heard that she disappeared around the time when the Dummy Program was shut down. Do you think that's connected?

Technician B: I don't think so. Doctor Akagi worked too hard and too long to destroy her own project… it'd be like her destroying the MAGI.

Technician C: Why don't you ask her?

Technician B: Are you kidding? You ask her.

Technician A: Wait hold on…

(A hush fell over the table next to Ritsuko's, compelling her to wonder why. She thought about abandoning her act and open her eyes to see what all the commotion was about when she heard a rustle of clothing brush against the plastic bench across from her just as a hand fell over her shoulder)

Woman: Hey! Wake up!

(A curious Ritsuko slowly pushed herself up from the cold plastic tabletop and opened her eyes to find a scar faced woman staring back at her with a bright expression, pushing a cup of coffee in her direction)

Rina: Hope you like it long and black.

Ritsuko: (exasperated) Excuse me?

Rina: The coffee… it looks like you've had a hard day so I thought I'd get you'd need all the help you can get.

Ritsuko: Oh… thanks.

(Reluctantly, Ritsuko reached over the cup and took a sip. A warm feeling came over her as she sighed, lowering the cup back onto the bench to find that the other woman's face had brightened several shades more)

Ritsuko: You're new here, aren't you?

Rina: Well—if you mean _here _as in Japan, then you're absolutely right.

Ritsuko: (sarcastically) Right… you don't know me, do you.

Rina: Yeah! You're… Ritsuko Akagi, Research Co-ordinator

Ritsuko: …

Rina: It say's so on you're ID.

(the raven haired woman pointed to the plastic tag hanging off Ritsuko's breast pocket. This earned her a chuckle as Ritsuko, in turn, read her details from her ID).

Ritsuko: So what brings you to Tokyo-3, Doctor Cortez? I can't imagine it's got anything to do with the food. This coffee taste like it's been filtered through a jockstrap.

Rina: (laughing) You got me there.

(the elder blonde doctor shook her head as once more, she took a sip from the mug and read the ID)

Ritsuko: Say's there that you're working in R&D… looks like we'll be spending more time with each other.

Rina: I'm not sure… I'll be working closely with the kids… in fact, I have to be going soon. Rei's going to have an activation test in about a minute.

(Ritsuko winced at the mention of Rei's name, all of a sudden hardening her gaze at her younger subordinate)

Ritsuko: (snorting) Well… let's get going then. You wouldn't want to get on the commander's bad side on your first test, would you?

Rina: (blinking) You know the commander?

Misato: Closer than you'd like to know.

(Shocked, both women were quick to spin around to find Misato looming over them with a dark look upon her face)

Misato: Let's get going doctors.

Rina: Okay! (getting up) Let's do this.

(the other was less than enthusiastic to get rise to her feet, meeting Misato's icy gaze with her own)

Ritsuko: Good to work with you again.

(With this, she left the two behind. Slowly, Rina turned to face Misato with a puzzled expression)

Rina: You know her?

Misato: More than I'd like to know.

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(A few minutes later, in the test center a few floors below, an expressionless face studies her own reflection against the surface of the HUD. Her skin almost seemed to have meld with the tiles, and her eyes seemed to be bleeding from the white surface. For a moment, the girl leans over her seat, extending her hand to touch her own face across the glass, then a face boxed out of the corner of her screen.)

Rina: We have established third stage contact and we're about to begin… are you feeling any discomfort or oddities anywhere on your body?

Ritsuko: (off screen) Wha- what the hell do you think you're doing? Just do your job!

Misato: (off screen) You shut up! Rina is doing her job-

Rei: I do not feel anything.

Rina: That's good. The A-11 connect circuits seem to be functioning normally. (turning to her right) Lieutenant Ibuki, how is Rei's synch ratio results?

Maya: (off screen) … it's… just over 92

Misato: What did you say?

Ritsuko: Check your monitor Maya, Rei's highest synch ratio was 82 at best and scored a 65 in her last test.

Maya: No abnormalities detected, ma'am. All the readouts are correct.

Ritsuko: O- kay… proceeding with the simulation… Rei… try moving your arm.

(Several seconds pass in silence, prompting Rina to return to the screen)

Ritsuko: Rei, is there something wro-

Rei: How?

Ritsuko: …

Rei: I don't know how…

Ritsuko: …

Misato: (sighing defeatedly) Oh boy… this is going to take longer than I thought-

(without warning, another boxed across the screen in front of the women with Gendo's expressionless gaze on the other end)

Gendo: Doctor Akagi, I require your presence at my office at once.

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(Bathed in the soft glow of crimson and shrouded in silence, Gendo Ikari sat inanimately by his desk, complimented by an elderly man standing by his side, both studying the man in the middle of his room under a blinding spotlight. This, however, did not seem to bother the younger man, his auburn locks shining in the spotlight, as did the bronze eagle pinned on his shoulder and his deep blue eyes.)

Man: … MF has approved extending their budget of $4 trillion US and as you may have already noticed, have already begun to rebuild the city of Tokyo-3. The US government has also decided to station the First through to the Fifth Armored Battalion by New Yokozuka, as well as the entire Pacific Fleet and Sixteenth Airforce. What is more is that the President has placed the command of these men squarely in your hands.

Gendo: This would be the largest occupation force in Japan since World War 2. Is this absolutely necessary?

Man: Let's just say it comes with the package. Either you take it or the UN pulls back your funding.

Fuyutski: (scoffing) did the committee set you up to this?

Man: If by committee you are referring to the Congress and the Senate of the United States, then yes. They did set me up to this. Needless to say, the President had to pull a few strings to get the UN to approve the budget. You must have done something pretty drastic to scare the most powerful man on the planet.

Fuyutski: Indeed… very well. Your men can stay… even assist NERV in coordinating our defense.

Man: There is one more condition the US government has placed on this.

Gendo: Which is?

Man: That I oversee the coordination of NERV for as long as it takes. This includes auditing your defenses, overseeing your finances and inspecting the progress of the E-Projects.

Gendo: Is that all?

Man: For the meantime… Well, what will it be, gentlemen?

(A cold, despondent silence descends upon the spacious hall--the two men, regarding each other out of cast away gazes. Several heartbeats pass this way until at last Gendo lowers his hand from his mouth to reveal a cold smirk)

Gendo: Welcome to NERV, Colonel Grant. I trust that you'll find our hospitality… sufficient.

Man: Please, call me Jude. We'll be working closely from now on.

Gendo: Indeed… but before you leave, I have arranged for someone to familiarize you with the facility.

(Jude pauses for a second, glancing at the man and his vice quizzically, none of them making a sound. Then, after a few moments more, he grins as he shook his head and leaves the chamber altogether.

As the door slides shut behind him, he scans his surroundings, expecting to find a mail opener or an accountant, someone who knew absolutely nothing about the facility, to waste his time. The only one that he spotted with him at that time was a stunning woman with blonde hair wearing a tidy laboratory coat, a short black skirt and a neat blue blouse worn beneath it. Judging by this and the no-nonsense look on her face, it would seem that she was the person he had been assigned. Again, shaking his head, he steps up to her with charming smile)

Jude: Uh- hi!

(The woman looks at the man for a second, noting his green uniform and all of the decorations etched onto his right breast, almost surprised at the sight. It took her a while to figure who he was, raising a brow at him)

Ritsuko: You must be the grunt the committee sent to keep an eye on us?

(Amused, Jude threw a backwards look at the closed doors behind him, then returned his somewhat puzzled gaze at Ritsuko, still pointing to the door)

Jude: Were you just… _listening _on us?

Ritsuko: Let's just call it an educated guess… and you're not much of a diplomat. You let on too much.

(Sheepishly, Grant chuckled and began to scratch the back of his bag)

Jude: Well it's just as you said, I'm a grunt. Bullshitting is not something I'm particularly skilled at.

Ritsuko: I can see that.

(This earned the woman a knowing nod as he extended her a hand)

Jude: Name's Jude…

(The woman looked at the hand offered to her and paused for a second, taking a second look at the man's face. One can learn a lot from facial expressions. Like his lines at the bottom of his eyes, which seemed relaxed and smooth, meaning that he was genuinely interested in befriending her. Then there was the his brows, they too were at ease. And then there were his deep brown eyes…

Ritsuko promptly shook his hand and cracked a smile)

Ritsuko: Doctor Ritsuko Akagi.

Jude: I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Ritsuko.

(the doctor growled lowly upon hearing him say her first name so casually as she slackened her grip around his hand)

Ritsuko: So… I see that you've served with the US airborne division…

Jude: Yeah… the 23rd airborne. We saw action near Bataan near the end of Northern Conflict.

Ritsuko: Is that so?

Jude: Uh huh.

(The woman shook her head then began to lead the American colonel down the corridor to an unknown destination)

Ritsuko: (smiling) Kindly entertain me, Colonel… what makes a man jump out of a perfectly good airplane?

Jude: I don't know… I guess it helps with the ladies.

Ritsuko: …

Jude: Well, is it working?

(Ritsuko rolled her eyes back, inwardly slapping herself on the forehead)

Ritsuko: (mumbling) Gendo you bastard…

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(Elsewhere, a clandestine committee gathers in the darkness of a hollow room. Twelve dark monoliths towered around an invisible circle, carrying with them a sinister aura as they plot, hidden by the shadows.)

SEELE 04: We have been far too careless… careless and trusting.

SEELE 08: To bite the hand that fed him… what blasphemy. What treason!

SEELE 07: But now, Ikari has put into motion the means of his own destruction.

SEELE 03: Now he has no choice but to accept our final card into his deck, and do as we will.

SEELE 10: Time… money… manpower… all will come into fruition in a matter of months.

SEELE 03: Two thousand years of waiting, we now find ourselves near the end of our journey.

SEELE 12: Our mission is near completion.

SEELE 02: Our salvation is at hand.

Kihl: And Ikari, our old confidant… you will pay for your sins.

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(Asuka had lost track of time. Despite sitting on the couch across from a running television for hours on end, the only thing that Asuka had really been paid attention to was the photo that she saw earlier that day and the faces smiling back at her, wishing her to get better and perhaps return to them. All but one face which was nowhere to be found. For hours, she had agonized over this, wondering why Shinji had not joined her classmates in wishing her well…

A puzzle which only served to anger her further).

(It was then that a loud knock echoed from the front door. Asuka figures that Rina had forgotten her keys like she did so often in Germany, she struggles up to her feet, disregarding the wheel chair which was tossed aside across the living room floor and ambled towards the door. A louder knock resounded this time around, angering the redhead.)

Asuka: Hold on, will ya! _Verdamnt_…

(Almost loosing her footing, Asuka manages to shift her weight just in time so that she fell to her side onto a nearby wall.)

Asuka: _Shiesse_…

(As the girl struggles back to her feet, she hears voices beneath the crack of the front door… voices that almost at once lifts her spirit)

Hikari: Can't you try being a little bit more patient, Touji? Or are you going to break in here just like you at Ayanami's.

Touji: H-hey! First of all, I didn't break into Rei's place, a'ight? She left her do unlocked. That's just the way she is and if you don' believe me, you can ask Shinji there. He's dropped Rei's her print out lots of times.

(A short pause follows before a voice responds)

Shinji: I guess section two's always watching her place, so there's no reason she should lock her doors.

(the voice prompts Asuka to shoot up to her feet and gather strength in her legs, allowing her to stumble along the walls all the way to the front door where she undoes a dead bolt and throws the door open to find four familiar faces staring blankly back at her.)

Asuka: H- Hikari? Is that really you?

(the girl stutters a response, but takes an unsteady step forward, shocked to find Asuka in such a state. Asuka reads this in her face, a sight which nearly breaks her heart. Hesitantly, she turned towards the others, freezing upon Touji, who was standing up right.)

Asuka: Glad to see that you're still alright Touji. But I'm sorry that they couldn't save the other two brain cells.

Touji: (sarcastically) Ha ha… always the comedian, aren't ya?

Asuka: Not when the _you__'re _the joke… which is- what? 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

Hikari: (sobbing) Asuka!

(Launching herself into Asuka, Hikari buried her teary head into Asuka's arms, in turn wrapping her trembling arms around Asuka's waist)

Asuka: Woah, Hikari! Ease up! You're going to give Touji ideas…

Touji: Bite me, Asuka!

_D I N G_

Rina: (distantly) I see that the party's already started without us.

(The five children quickly shift their attention to one end of the corridor finding two women emerging from an elevator door with large smiles across their faces and large plastic bags in their hands, probably take out from a newly established restaurant in southern Chibu. An anxious Rina quickly paces over to Asuka with a look on her face, half worried that Asuka is not in her chair, half relieved that she is)

Rina: Sorry we're late… well then, let's get started, shall we?

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(While the sun crept beyond the mountains on a party in Tokyo-3, it was still dark on the other side of the world.

An elderly man crept slowly across the granite surface and approached the murky shores, careful not to stumble over unseen objects. He had thought about bringing a lantern with him, but decided against it. After a few more steps, the reason as to why became apparent. Far into the horizon, the first rays of light peered over the rocky cliffs, bathing the lake in a faint but warm ochre glow. The water itself seemed to glow like silken sapphire, with gold glittering off its surface as it rippled slightly with the wind.

At the waters edge, a large pillar rose, casting a shadow that stretched well into the darkness behind him. And sitting beside the pillar was a young girl, staring out into the rising sun, signaling a new day. A warm smile crept across his face as he approached the girl, careful as if to sneak up behind her. He stopped a few meters away, believing that his presence was not yet discovered.

He was mistaken.)

Elise: And it came to pass, when they had brought them forth, that he said _'escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain' _but Lot's wife looked back from behind him and became a pillar of salt.

(the old man's smile widened upon hearing the girl say this. He watched as her gaze turned from the lake to face him, her short russet hair flowing in the gentle breeze)

Douglas: Genesis nineteen verse seventeen and twenty eight…

(Elise turned back towards the panorama, allowing a silence to fall between her and the old man, calling over to the elderly man now standing a few meters behind her)

Elise: I don't think she froze because of a curse… she just loved the view.

Douglas: Same time every mornin', same time every evenin', day in and day out… pretty soon, you'll be standing here beside her to keep her company.

Elise: It wouldn't be so bad.

Douglas: (sighing) Just hurry back to the marquee, luv. They're serving brekkie. I heard they managed to slip Vegemite into this mornin's menu.

(For a long while, she just sat there as if she didn't hear, staring out into the sunrise. Then, after a few heartbeats, she slowly pushed herself up and turned to the elderly man. A warm smile glowed across her face as she turned to him.)

Elise: I'm sorry uncle, it just felt a little strange this morning.

(Both began to walk away from the water's edge towards a small encampment in the distance)

Douglas: Strange can mean a lot of things out here, darlin'. Ya need ta be a little more specific.

Elise: Dawn

(She saw him raise an eyebrow)

Elise: It… nah. Forget I even mentioned it.

Douglas: Ah ah! You tell ol' unky Doug what's been botherin' my lil' niece an' I'll see if I can do anythin' ta help.

Elise: …

Douglas: Come on.

Elise: It's just… I thought I heard a voice when the sun rose this morning. It was… calling out to me… crying.

Douglas: …

Elise: _From the far east will I bring you…_

_… and the far west will I gather you…_

_Bring my sons from a far-_

_And my daughters…_

_From the ends of the earth._

(The elder man fails to respond for a long while, letting only the wind answer her, but then as they began to pace towards the encampment by the bank of the lake, he chuckles to himself)

Douglas: I'm a man a' many talents, El, but poetry ain't one a dem.

Elise: …

Douglas: …

Elise: (whispering) That goes without saying.

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To be continued

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Author's notes:

Hi Kenni! So how do you like the story so far?


	3. Chapter 3

**Evangelion****: The Final Testament**

By Jonas Briones

Chapter 3: Silence

(It is early that morning, almost night even, though most people couldn't this discern from the darkness outside. However, not everyone was resting in the early hours of the new day as a young girl haunts the edge of the balcony, chancing a glance at the glowing sphere floating in the night. As a soft breeze whispers through the night air, it circles through her short cobalt locks, rustling them for a second before settling soon afterwards to silence.)

Rei: (panting) …

(her hands reach for the railings, trembling as they found home as her fingers tightened around the steel, almost afraid to let go. Her eyes were no different, unable to release its gaze from the pale moonlight as they too shook with terror, as if they had seen a ghost. The rising and falling of her chest slowed beneath a thin white t-shirt as did her pulse within her chest)

Rei: (panting) wh… who am I?

(after a long while, she lifts a hand to brush back her hair, only as she did, she felt a thin layer of sweat coating her fingers. She stops to stare at it for a while when the shaking returned. Frightened, the girl quickly grabs the railing and shut her eyes tightly)

Rei: (panting) what have I become?

(It is with a grim realisation that the girl suddenly slackens her grip around the steel tubes to hide from the moon's glow inside her desolate room, leaving in her wake, a faint voice)

Rei: … what will I become?

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(Elsewhere, about the same time, a weary Ritsuko's head bobs up and down upon a computer screen as her bloodshot eyes struggle to keep open. Her worried companions throw glancing looks at their exhausted co-ordinator, but kept silent as they proceeded with the task at hand. Knowing that their shift was going to end soon, they tacitly decided to do their best. After all, the sooner the work was done, the sooner they could go home)

Shigeru: Beginning diagnostic checks of MAGI Melchior.

Makoto: Sectors one through to five thousand are cleared… no abnormalities detected.

Maya: Checking subsystems A9 through to B5…

Ritsuko: …

Maya: What's the diagnosis on that bug we found on MAGI Casper?

Ritsuko: …

Maya: Ma'am?

(The young lieutenant throws a glancing look over her shoulder to her two male counterparts and shrugged)

Maya: Is it me or has she been a bit out of it lately?

Shigeru: Huh! You think that's weird? I saw her ducking in and out of the ladies room two days ago. If you ask me, somebody's got her spooked.

Ritsuko: …

Makoto: You don't think it's got anything to do with that other doctor, do you? What's her name again?

Maya: Doctor Cortez you mean?

Makoto: Yeah! That's it! She's probably hounding her for taking over her job.

(Shaking her head, the Maya looked over her shoulder just in time to see Ritsuko's forehead slam into her keyboard)

Maya: (unsure) Something tells me it's something else. Misato was like this before…

Ritsuko: … zzz

Shigeru: You mean when Kaji first came around?

Makoto: (growling) I don't think so…

Shigeru: Yeah! She'd always turn up pretty late for work… well, later than usual, if Kaji was on shift that is…

Ritsuko: ..zZzZZ

Maya: (anxious) Do you think that's what this is all about? She's got… _man _problems?

Shigeru: Who, ice lady over there? I don't think so. She's way too logical to have emotions.

(earning the wrath of Maya in the form of a frigid glare, both men are quick to return to their stations and got back to work. This lasted a few heartbeats before they once again swivelled over to Maya)

Makoto: So who do you think it is?

Shigeru: Do you 'spose it's the Commander?

Ritsuko: zzz… ZZZZ.

Maya: (reeling) Eww! Gross! He's old enough to be her father!

(the sleek haired lieutenant jolted back, somewhat amused at Maya's frustrated reaction)

Shigeru: Well then who?

(suddenly a thought came to mind, manifesting itself in an evil grin)

Shigeru: You know… she had always been close with Major Katsura-

Maya and Makoto: SHUGERU!

(the man falls back into his seat, clenching his chest, laughing out loud to himself while his two companions eye him with looks of murderous intent. It was then that they heard a familiar whoosh of hydraulic doors sliding open. Shigeru was quick to silence as he found a strange figure standing by the doorway, as if looking for something… or someone. The young lieutenant stood up and coughed loudly, catching what the man's attention).

Shigeru: Can I help you?

(the stranger is startled by this, stiffening in the spot and managing a sheepish smile as he scratched the back of his head.)

Jude: Um… you wouldn't happen to have seen a woman, about five foot nine, short blonde hair, glasses…

(All of a sudden, Shigeru noticed something gold glitter from something on his shoulder. A bronze badge: an eagle. It was then that Shigeru bolts straight up and snaps a quick salute)

Shigeru: Colonel Grant!

(This only managed to put the superior officer in a more awkward situation. Uncomfortably, he returned the technician's salute before scanning what seemed to be a near empty command platform)

Jude: So I was saying, did you see a woman… about five-nine, blonde hair, tight ass-

Makoto: You're referring to Doctor Akagi?

Ritsuko: … zzz

(the man brightens up at once)

Jude: Yeah! That's it! Akagi! Have you seen her?

Maya: Uh… her shift finished about an hour ago

Shigeru: MAYA!

Makoto: I think she'll be back at about four. She's got some more diagnostics to run about then.

Ritsuko: ZZZ…

Jude: (stepping closer) Huh? Is there someone else with you?

All three: NO!

Jude: (defensively) Hey! Take it easy…

(the American colonel turns to face the opening, waving the three goodbye on his way out)

Jude: Keep up the good work guys!

(A moment later, sounds of footsteps faded outside the corridor soon afterwards followed by the pneumatic hiss of the bulkheads shutting firmly behind them at which at all three lieutenants turned suspecting glances to their erstwhile companion snoring by her console)

Maya: She really needs to take a break… maybe I should take her to see a movie later on or something…

(it was the that her two male counterparts turned to her with quizzical looks)

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(Later that morning, a proud Asuka had a regal aura about her as she claims her seat to Shinji's right amidst a sea of gossip, most of which, of course, was about her. Short of brushing aside a tide of possible suitors, Asuka was completely overwhelmed by all the attention she was getting. Something which Shinji was less than comfortable with. Knowing that there was nothing that he could do about this, he sighed as he scanned the room, finding Rei nodding of near the window.

As he continues to scan the room, he finds that much has changed since the last time it was full. Touji was now seated near the front of the table rather than the back so that he could be close to Hikari. Though he couldn't admit it himself, Shinji saw just how much Hikari meant to her in the way he looks at her which said more than words could ever tell. Sure they fought once in a while, and it did get pretty heated when they had arguments, but they would always get back together, stronger than before.

The only thing that hadn't changed, Shinji thought as he looked around the class, was Kensuke. He was still the war buff that he ever was, but he doesn't talk about it much nowadays. Perhaps it was because Touji was spending less time with him to be with Hikari. Now that he thought about it, Kensuke really didn't spend much time with him either since he was gone most of the time as well.)

Asuka: Hey, why the gloomy face, Ikari?

(Shinji flinched inwardly: he had never gotten used to her calling him by his surname)

Shinji: I… see you're the most popular girl in school again-

Asuka: _Naturalich_

Shinji: -and… well…

Asuka: Hm?

Shinji: I'm happy for you.

(At this, Asuka pauses, her eyes fully dilated with shock. It takes her a few moments to process this, at which she stoops over the boy with a sly grin)

Asuka: Just what's your angle?

Shinji?

Asuka: (sarcastically) You wanna go out with me? Is that it?

Shinji: Huh?

Asuka: You must be up to something! You've got perverted look on your face.

Shinji: I think you got me all wrong-

Asuka: Well then _tell me_!

(the room, at once, falls deathly silent as ambient chatter gives way to hear the boy's response. Shinji looks around and finds a whole range of expressions directed at him from envy, lust, jealousy and downright hostility. It was then that his gaze fell upon Asuka's at which he gulped heavily, took a deep breath and signed his death warrant)

Shinji: (whispering) yes…

(All hell is let loose even before Shinji's voice ended as the whole class was worked up in a frenzy, patting both boy and girl who sat frozen at their seats, unable to process just what had happened)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

(At lunch, a young couple stood at the rooftop by the railings, almost alone to themselves. Both were vexed, but only Asuka was permitted to show it)

Asuka: (clapping) Congratulations, Ikari! You've done it again! You've ruined my glorious return to the scene.

Shinji: Well I thought that-

Asuka: (scoffing) I somehow doubt that.

Shinji: …

Asuka?

Shinji: …

Asuka: (angrily) well? Aren't you at least going to tell me what you were thinking about?

(gulping nervously, the boy looks up at the menacing scowl directed at him and decides that, now more than ever, he had nothing to lose)

Shinji: I thought that if I said no… everyone would have thought that I rejected you…

Asuka: (gasping) What? _You _dump _me_? I think they'll understand the humour.

Shinji: … but I'd be lying to myself again… I just

Asuka: Just what?

Shinji: … wanted to be with you again.

(these words knocks the wind from Asuka's lungs)

Shinji: I don't mind if you yell at me or pick on me-- really

Asuka: …

Shinji: I like hearing your voice. To tell you the truth… I was really scared when I thought that you weren't going to… uh… (looks away) never mind.

(honesty is a rare and wonderful virtue, one that Asuka isn't used to receive, however the boy's small spill was more than enough to warm a part of her which has remained cold for the longest of times… her heart

At last, she breaks a scoff as she scoots over to an empty bench away from Shinji and begins to rummage through her bag. This does not go unnoticed as Shinji quickly chases after her, digging into his bag to reveal two lunchboxes)

Shinji: H-hey! I've made some lunch-

(the boy then spots Asuka taking out a large plastic container full of rice and a mix of meat, vegetables sautéed in a sickly yellow sauce. Asuka quickly peels the lid open to release a strange aroma before reaching into the bag again, this time pulling out a plastic spoon. She looks at Shinji and smiles nervously)

Asuka: Uh- Rina always makes _waaay_too much lunch, and I'd hate to throw away perfectly good food…

Shinji: What is that?

Asuka: …

Shinji?

Asuka: I think she calls it _Kare-kare__…_

Shinji: (coiling) it… sounds twice as bad as Misato's ramen-curry.

(This deserved the boy a sharp scowling over)

Asuka: Shinji… if this was Misato's curry, it wouldn't have made it out the kitchen waste basket. _This_ thing is pretty good, in fact if it's _so_ good, I'd eat it all by myself… but I've got my figure to worry about and-

Shinji: I can help you with it.

(Shinji is about to break reach into the strange dish with his chopsticks when-)

Asuka: Uh- thanks.

(Asuka begins to devour the contents but then stops, finding that she was alone in doing so. After gulping a large chunk of meat, she eyes the boy coldly)

Asuka: (annoyed) what is it now?

Shinji: it's nothing.

Asuka: (angry) Just tell me already!

Shinji: It's just… that was the first time you said thanks to me.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

(A few feet below, a lonely Kensuke slowly glances away from the couple on the rooftop as he heaved a heavy sigh. Before, not too long ago, there were three of them, friends until the end, just Shinji, Touji and himself. Where one would go, the other two would follow. Friends until the end…

Or at least when they got to work. First it was Touji. Kensuke knew that he couldn't even begin to imagine the nightmares Touji must have gone through inside of Unit-03 that fateful day. His best friend lost an arm and a leg. But then he had Hikari to ease his suffering. One down, two to go.

Sure, he thought that Shinji and Asuka were like two positively charged ends of a magnet who always repelled each other, but he had always felt a strange tension between the two long before he saw the end result on the rooftop. Now they seemed destined to a life together.

That left him to himself. He had always blamed the Eva program for this: that Eva pilots had all the girls, but deep inside he knew that something else had brought the others closer to each other. This, however, provided cold comfort to him as he sighed in defeat and ambled off to the last sanctuary that he knew of in these difficult times… the computer laboratories)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

(Elsewhere around the same time, Elise is laid upon her back along the bay of the saline lake as her gazing at the velvet mantelpiece over head, dusted with traces of light twinkling far away. Strangely, though, she is drawn to the pale glow of the moonlight above her that she barely notices the sand shuffling a few meters behind)

Elise: Douglas… if that's another meat pie that you've got for me, I swear to God, I'll shove that so far up your ass-

Balthazar: I dun recall ye ever studyin' proctology back at home-

Elise: (glancing up in shock) D-daddy!

(indeed there he was hovering above her with one hand tucked behind him)

Balthazar: (laughing) well yuv always picked these kinda stuff up real quick, just like ya mum.

(The girl shakes her head as she returns to star gazing. The elder man sees this and shuffles closer to the girl and knelt beside her)

Balthazar: Ya know there's sumfin' wrong if ya kid starts hangin' out wit' her old man's friends… ya should really be hangin' out wit kids _your_ age.

Elise: Two things, dad… first, I'm not a kid! I'm almost eighteen. I've done everything around the dig sites from taking the seismic readouts to translating the Phoenician characters on our only map-

Balthazar: An' I appreciate your contributions, El. I really do.

Elise: Secondly, the nearest person my age is about two hundred kilometres north of our position-

Balthazar: Not wid de miraclez of modehn technology at your fingertips, it ain't.

(He promptly reveals what he has been hiding behind his back to Elise: a laptop which he offers to her and in turn, which she accepts)

Balthazar: Say? How's ya Jap? We haft a make a report ta da bankers at Tohmatsu 'n Co. to extend us a line of credit next week. Ya fink ya up ta it?

(she snorts as she quickly flicks the switch on the laptop and inspects it)

Elise: Does this have a wi-fi link to the satellite relay you've got set up in the middle of the camp?

Balthazar: Sure duz! Anyway… as I was sayin', ya tink ya can talk Jap well 'nuf ta sway a few grand ahh-way?

Elise: (smiling) So what do I have to do to prove to you that I really can speak Japanese?

Balthazar: By talkin' ta one, of course! Go inta wan-a dose chat sites dat you teens go to all da time…

(a speedy series of clicks fill the night air as Elise strings in a few commands into the machine, then stops)

Elise: (raising a brow) which one?

Balthazar: A Jap one.

Elise: (laughing) which one?

Balthazar: (playfully) Fackin' pick one already!

(Elise giggles to herself as she closes her eyes, pressing firmly on the down key for a few heartbeats before at last hitting enter. Promptly opening her eyes, the girl turns to her father with an anxious expression)

Elise: There's only one guy in this channel.

Balthazar: Not a problem. Just talk to him! Ask him what's the whether like over there at this time of the year!

Elise: If I wanted to know the weather, I could just hook up with Japan's Bureau of Meteorology-

Balthazar: Don't be a kill-joy, El. Just do it!

Elise: Okay… let me just set things up to write in kanji…

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

(After a long silence of nothingness, a message bleeps across Kensuke's monitor, finding )

** crazyoz: ** **You looked lonely… I thought that you might like the company.**

(he is slow to move over to the keyboard, still taken aback that someone, has started a conversation with him, but it has been so while that he wasn't sure how to respond)

** evapilot: ** **Thanks, I guess**

(the response is slow, a fact which troubled Kensuke until the message came)

** crazyoz: ** **Is something the matter?**

** evapilot: Not really, no.**

** crazyoz: You don't sound right… mind talking about it.**

Kensuke: (thinking) I _sound _bummed? (shrugging) might as well-

** evapilot: I guess my friends are too busy now that they've got girlfriends of their own…**

** crazyoz: And you don't?**

** evapilot: No… I don't. Why else would I be here, waiting for someone to feel sorry enough to actually start a conversation.**

** crazyoz: Hey! I'm on your side!**

** evapilot: Yeah right**

(A few heartbeats pass as the cursor freezes on one spot, pulsing like his heart before at last it moves again)

** crazyoz : Sounds like you've already given up.**

Kensuke: (thinking) _again _with the sounds

** evapilot: It's not exactly as if I haven't tried. All the girls in class are attracted to these… other boys.**

** crazyoz: So what have they got that you don't?**

Kensuke: (laughing) a three hundred ton robot capable of snapping I-Beams like matchsticks-

** crazyoz: Look, I wouldn't worry too much about these kinds of things. You seem normal enough, pretty soon you'll be beating them off, with a stick, you'll see.**

(Kensuke laughs at the imagery as he keys in a reply)

** evapilot: Well forgive me if I don't share your sense of optimism.**

** crazyoz: At least you've got a good sense of humour. And I bet you're cute too! **

(the boy pauses as he couldn't help but blush at the compliment. Just as he is about to thank her, the class bell rings.)

** evapilot: Thanks, but I got to go now. It was nice talking you. **

** crazyoz: Likewise.**

(Kensuke is about to reach for the kill switch when a thought came to mind)

** evapilot: I'll be back here tomorrow around the same time. Maybe we can catch up around then.**

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

(Back at the Southern-most tip of the Dead Sea, a puzzled old man stared at the computer screen, wondering just what Elise what laughing about as she slowly turns the laptop off)

Balthazar: So what was that all about?

(the girl laughs a reply)

Elise: Just some kid having girl problems… can I do this again tomorrow?

Balthazar: I dun see why not. Sure.

Elise: Thanks-

Balthazar: Just one thing though…

Elise: (blinking) Yeah?

Balthazar: This kid

Elise: …

Balthazar: Are you sure there's nothing on between you two?

Elise?

Balthazar: (sheepishly) You're not… having _sex _online, are you?

(Instantly, the girl coils back in terror as the elder man walks away, laughing to himself)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

(Later that day, a curious Rina steps back from the examination table inside one of NERV's many infirmaries, drawing back a stethoscope from Rei's chest, turning to a clipboard on the far side of the room.)

Rina: Well, everything checks out. I don't suppose that you've been taking drugs, have you?

(the weary girl is slow to rise from the cold bench top, buttoning up her school blouse and ignoring the doctor)

Rina: (embarrassed) O-kay… stupid question.

(Rina places her clipboard onto a nearby bench top as she shifts to cupboard and draws out a small white bottle, handing it to Rei who accepts it)

Rina: Take one pill about thirty minutes before you want to sleep.

Rei: (pockets the bottle) Understood, doctor…

(Rina manages an awkward smile, and for several seconds studies the look on Rei's face)

Rina: You know, if you tell me what's happening, I can do more than prescribe you some sedatives.

Rei: …

Rina: I can help you.

(For a long moment, Rei merely glances vacantly at the doctor in complete silence. Then, after a few long heartbeats, Rei returns to her bench top and sits on her previous spot where it was still warm)

Rei: Will this conversation remain classified?

Rina: Doctor-patient privilege means that what you say _stays _between you and me.

(the girl looks down, her crimson eyes wandering along the lifeless white tiles)

Rei: I hear voices… in the night they come to me in hushed whispers… reminding me who I used to be

Rina: …

Rei: The voice is my own… telling me what happened in past lives…

Rina: …

Rei: It feels that these voices are trying to tell me something… that they are trying to warn me.

Rina: Of what, Rei?

(Several wordless moments pass until finally the girl lifts her gaze. What Rina saw in Rei's eyes then would haunt her for the rest of her life as she sees her reflection beneath those twin scarlet orbs: as if Rei had stolen her soul.)

Rei: to beware…

Rina: …

Rei: the rising of the new dawn.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

(Sun has set beyond the horizon draping the city outstretched shadows over the city of twilight. Like a phoenix, this legendary city was once the culmination of human achievement, only to be razed to ashes not even a decade since its first foundations were laid, then restored once again better and brighter than ever before. From the night sky, one could be forgiven for misbelieving his or her eyes as they find stars below them,

-if they are not first blinded by its lights.

Rising high above the cityscape far beyond its boundaries, a young couple hid amongst the shadows as they gazed upon the city that they called home. For Shinji, the experience is more profound: it is the first time that Asuka has been here, and as he threw a casual glance over his shoulder to the girl to his right, he finds that she is smiling.

This, however, does not go unnoticed as she finds him ogling her from her peripheral view. Asuka's jolts back cautiously)

Asuka: Stop looking at me like that, will you?

Shinji: Like what?

Asuka: LIKE THAT!

(Asuka feels a deep sting in her chest as the boy drops his gaze. At this she sighed and dropped all pretences of royalty, deciding to take a road less travelled of understanding. However this is something which she is not used to and is hesitant to speak at all.)

Asuka: Sorry… I- I appreciate you bringing me up here-

Shinji: …

Asuka: I never knew that Tokyo-3 could be so beautiful at night…

Shinji: …

Asuka: … but you didn't bring me here just for the view…

Shinji: …

Asuka: Did you?

(The boy's eyes perk up as the girl discovers his true motives on her own. He had planned on slipping it in the middle of a conversation, but then abandoned it just a moment ago when the girl screamed at him. He barely manages a whimpered squeak)

Shinji: (weak) it's just…

Asuka: Go on.

(She finds the sight of the boy frozen stiff in front of him unbearable to watch that she does something unexpected: grabbing the boy by either shoulder and turning him violently so that he had no choice but to look at her. Asuka gnashes her teeth)

Asuka: (crying) Why are you so scared of me? Huh? Why don't you just say what's on your mind, Shinji?

(suddenly the boy lifts his eyes up, revealing to the girl the tears that he so desperately tried to hide. As she is startled by the sight, he takes a chance, brushing both her arms away in a single swipe as he manages to respond in between whimpers)

Shinji: (angry) You- want to know what I want?

Asuka: Yes! Tell me alrea-

(Muffled pleas are trapped between locked lips as Asuka suddenly finds herself engulfed within the boy's arms, her body locked between his and the railings. At first, she tries to push away, struggling against Shinji's grasp-)

Asuka: MMff! HMF!

(… however he was stronger than she had anticipated, but moreover, there was a part of her that didn't want to push him away. Soon, her struggle weakens and what used to be whimpers of her great effort to break free become moans of pleasure, her fingers now settling upon Shinji's broad shoulders. Asuka feels his grip slacken from her arms as they travel behind her hips to pull her shapely outline against his.)

Asuka: Ahhhh…

(Just as reluctantly as a single tears breaks from the corner of her eye, Shinji pulls away from her. The air felt cold without her breath upon his skin, but as she pulls on his clothes towards her a second time, the boy shakes his head)

Shinji: We have to go

Asuka: Bullshit we have to go- I don't want to go! We don't have to go anywhere!

Shinji: Asuka…

(the girl stops at once as he mentions her name. His hand slides along the length of her arm, grasping the tip of her delicate fingers as he once more directs her out to the scintillating city below and embraced her from behind)

Shinji: Happy birthday…

Asuka: …

Shinji: (thinking) God… Misato's going to kill me.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Rina: Oww! Sh- what the hell? Excuse me! So sorry-

(A young scar-faced doctor could be seen in the soft glow of light bouncing off the screen as she stumbles through a packed cinema, weaving through a row full of patrons. She manages to balance a large bucket of popcorn in one hand and a cup of cola in the other hand before she finally reaches a vacant seat adjacent to a familiar blonde major with a face that's about to burst from holding her amusement

Her younger company carefully hands Misato the popcorn as she takes her seat)

Rina: (whispering) You owe me big, Misato-

Misato: (whispering) Like hell I do! You were more than five minutes late to the lobby.

Rina: (hissing) I was working with Rei… and I barely made it in time to get Asuka a gift…

All: **_SSSSHHHH!_**

(Rina is silenced by the insistent crowd, though she couldn't figure out why. They are only screening previews just now. After a long while, she chances a look at Misato and leans over)

Rina: I tried calling Asuka while I was out there… kept saying that her phone's switched off or something, and nobody's picking up at home.

Misato: Just relax, Rin-

Rina: (growling) Relax? Something could have happened to her!

(For the second time, the group reprimands her with a stricter hiss as if to warn her that there will be no third time. The woman takes her cue and settles back into her seat, chugging a mouthful of cola.

Misato shakes her head as she then digs into her pocket and shows Rina a PDA)

Misato: It's a map of the city…

(Rina finds two dots near the edge of the screen, raising her suspicion)

Rina: What's the red dot?

Misato: Oh, that's Shinji… I had tracking devices installed in his lunchbox.

(the doctor nods)

Rina: And the-

Misato: is Asuka… (sighing dryly) Shinji packed her an extra lunchbox.

Rina: Impressive

Misato: Thanks.

Rina: So where are they now?

(She leans over to check the co-ordinates)

Misato: It… looks like they're at the eastern lookout… it's a place I showed him the first time he came here.

Rina: A lookout, huh? They could probably see the whole city light up like a Christmas Tree right about now.

Misato: Yeah, they should…

(an unsteady silence follows as Rina wonders whether she should go on.)

Rina: Hey, you don't suppose that-

Misato: Don't suppose what, Rina?

Rina: (awkward) you- know… what kids their age do at lookouts…

(the major throws her companion a raised brow)

Misato: Most of the kids their age are checking out the new malls that they've built in the Togo area. That place is going to be absolutely deserte-

(Stopping at the end of her sentence as a thought dawns on her, her eyes dart towards a blushing Rina who was probably thinking the same thing. Mysteriously though, she cracks a smile. A nervous one at that, but still a smile)

Misato: (shaking her head) Naaah! I don't think so…

Rina: (giggling nervously) Yeah, that's stupid. Asuka'll probably beat him to a pulp before that happens.

Misato: Yeah. There's nothing to worry about. They're responsible adults.

Rina: Eva Pilots at that.

Misato: The best that NERV's got to offer.

(Both pause, glancing at each other for a moment, exchanging panicked glances. At once, the two women shoot up from their seats to the hisses and boos of the other cinema patrons as they barrel across their row)

Misato: Excuse me… pardon me- HEY WATCH IT BUSTER!

Rina: Sorry- uh jeez! I'm so sorry-

(A loud noise, half cheers, half jeers, met the two women as they finally made it to the safe haven of the darkened aisle. Both women sighed inwardly as they ambled hurriedly down the corridor, neither really expecting to see a familiar blonde scientist with a young lieutenant wandering up the stairs. Misato tried to sidestep, Rina opened her mouth to screen and Ritsuko as well as Maya were too tired to even look up, but it was all too late…

a moment later, the three ended up in a tangled mess of limbs, butter popcorn and icy cold cola all over the front of the cinema for everyone to see. The show hasn't even started but the fun has already begun)

Maya: Owww…

Ritsuko: (weak) Please… kill me already…

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

(Elsewhere, Jude felt something wrong about this office. It was a waste of space, no doubt about that, it could easily host a UN General Meeting, let alone act as an office of the Supreme Commander of NERV. Jude's thoughts wandered as his gaze lifted to the crimson impressions upon the ceilings which sent a cold shiver down his spine…

His attention was brought back into line with a sharp cough from a grey old man at the front who stood aside Gendo)

Fuyutski: As I was saying, Colonel, we assigned Doctor Akagi to accompany you around NERV not only as a guide to familiarize you with our facilities but also ensure your safety. Wandering around NERV can be quite dangerous, especially to the uninitiated. Last month, we had seventeen work related injuries to, seven of which were attributed to workers being in places where they shouldn't be where they were exposed to hazardous materials.

Gendo: It is quite vulgar of a visitor to ignore the requests of the host… no matter how important the visitor may be.

(Jude shrugged his shoulders and their accusations, casually stepping closer to the desk)

Jude: Don't get me wrong, gentlemen. I've been searching for the good doctor for the better part of the day, you can verify this with your CCTV surveillance which has been following me like a bad stink.

(Silence answered the Colonel as he saw the skin around Gendo's eyes tense. Faithful Fuyutski quickly steps)

Fuyutski: (stern) Which has also raised our concern, Colonel Grant. For five days you have taken advantage of Doctor Akagi's cooperation to inspect our cafeterias, our lavatories even our lounge rooms. If I wasn't mistaken, Colonel, I could have sworn that you are flirting with your guide which is a serious conflict of interest.

(All of a sudden, the smile on Jude's face disappears as something more sinister replaces it, his glance alone was able to startle the stalwart Fuyutski)

Jude: Professor Fuyutski… are you a God fearing man?

Fuyutski: What are you tryin-

Jude: I'll take that as a no… I would also assume that you have also not heard about parable of the unmerciful servant.

Fuyutski: …

Jude: Once upon a time… a very long time ago, there was once a king who called his head servant who owed him ten thousand shackles of gold to be paid at once. The head servant fell to the king's feet and begged him forgiveness, for if the king decided to throw him into the dungeons, how could his wife and child survive.

Gendo: (thinking) interesting…

Fuyutski: (infuriated) Does this… parable have point?

(The old man's outburst only managed to amuse the Colonel as he continued)

Jude: The king decided to release the head servant, but not only that, he cancelled all of his debts. Overflowed with joy, the servant thanked the king and ran out of the palace. Outside, he finds one of the lower servants that owed him ten silver pieces. The head servant grabs the other by the throat and demanded him to repay his debt at once. The other servant begged the head servant to forgive him, to give him more time to pay his debt, but the head servant refused to listen. He then had the poor servant thrown into the castle's dungeon and tortured until he was able to pay his debt.

Fuyutski: Colonel, quite frankly I am getting rather fed up with this-

Jude: Patience, professor. I am nearly done.

Fuyutski: Hurry up with it then…

Jude: Very well… the king later heard about this and summoned the head servant a second time. The king asked why the head had done this after he had forgiven him of all of his debts. Infuriated, the king then threw the head servant in the deepest dungeon of his castle where he was tortured day in and day out…

Fuyutski: …

Jude: …

Fuyutski: That was quite a tale you spun, but what has that got to do with your situation? We could have you exorcized from the military.

Jude: And I can have NERV shut down at once, professor.

(the blonde man walks around the desk and stops an inch from Fuyutski's face, smiling)

Jude: I have audited your so called Financial Statements… one billion embezzled here, another two there, nothing too much but when you add it up, you find that quite a lot of money disappearing. If I were to report this to my superiors, you would have to stand before the General Assembly to account for all of this misappropriation. I doubt that they will be as understanding as I.

(Behind interlocking fingers hid a smile of admiration for the young man, but at the same time, Gendo realized that he was not to be taken lightly. He could see that Fuyutski was calm and collected, able to stare down the younger man, however, inside, he knew that he was trembling. After a few tentative heartbeats, Gendo rose from his seat)

Gendo: What is it that you really want?

(for a long while, Jude stood eye to eye with Fuyutski, neither man willing to back down. Then Jude smiled and shrugged as an crimson light glinted off his auburn orbs)

--------------------------------------

To be continued

--------------------------------------

A/N

Thanks for responding guys… please keep those responses coming. I don't care if they're negative, so long as they are constructive.


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